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Research Summary

I am currently a joint reader in palaeobiology at University College London in the Department of Genetics, Evolution, and Environment and the Department of Earth Sciences. I am also affiliated with the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and serve as the director of the new MRes in Biodiversity, Evolution & Conservation. Together with the Evans, Upchurch, and Chatterjee groups, I organise the ADaPTIVE (Anatomy, Diversity and Phylogeny: Trends in Vertebrate Evolution) inter-lab meetings at UCL.

Outside of UCL, I serve as co-chair of the Scientific Program Committee and a member of the media response team for the Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology. I am also a fellow of the Linnean Society of London, and a member of the editorial boards for PLoS One and the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

My main research interests are in mammalian evolution and development, especially using morphometric methods to incorporate data from embryos to fossils to test genetic and developmental hypotheses of modularity and morphological diversity. I have previously focused on carnivoran evolution, but lately I have been researching these topics across other clades, as well as addressing these topics as they relate to the marsupial-placental dichotomy. I am also currently working on the relationships and paleobiogeography of Mesozoic mammals, particularly focusing on Gondwanan eutherians. Relatedly, I am working on methods to assess evolutionary rates in multivariate (morphometric) characters for comparison with molecular rates of evolution, with relevance for the estimation of divergence times.

I currently conduct fieldwork in the Cretaceous of India and the Paleogene of Svalbard, but have previously been involved in fieldwork in Peru, Chile, Madagascar, and the United States. I have also conducted palaeoecological research on Triassic amniotes and Eocene whales using dental microwear and stable isotopes.